The Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left's Assault on Our Culture and Values
Tammy Bruce. Prima Lifestyles, $25.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-7615-1663-7
Self-proclaimed lesbian pro-choice feminist Bruce, ex-president of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW and author of The New Thought Police, blames the decline of civilization on other lesbian pro-choice feminists in this lurid right-wing screed. Bruce argues that multiculturalism, identity politics and""relativism"" have turned American society into a""moral vacuum"" incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, a reflection of the""malignant narcissism"" of an all-powerful""Left Elite."" With an apostate's zeal, she pillories the Feminist Elite's hatred of men, marriage and motherhood, the Black Elite's championing of violent rap, the Gay Elite's""grab for children"" by insinuating let-it-all-hang-out sex-ed programs into schools, the Academic Elite's nihilism and anti-Americanism, and the Entertainment Elite's""moral depravity beyond measure."" Bruce revels in trashing radical excess (performance artists are a favorite) and does point out, crudely, some of the contradictory currents of left ideology. But her own critique lacks coherence. She lumps together such disparate figures as Bill Clinton, Mumia Abu-Jamal and the""moral terrorist"" Ozzy Osbourne as emblems of a monolithic Left. She decries academics' rejection of all moral values, but when they do express a moral judgment--by condemning America's""ethnic cleansing"" of Indians, or the wartime internment of Japanese-Americans--they are guilty of""morally killing"" America's""heroes."" She complains of being""demonized"" by leftists, then describes said leftists as a""diseased seed"" who""hate themselves and hate this country.""""I now realize that conservatives who disagree with me also have good points,"" she avers. Too bad she won't extend that courtesy to her opponents on the left.
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Reviewed on: 04/01/2003
Genre: Nonfiction